Gabrielle Union: Why I felt ‘entitled’ to cheat during Chris Howard marriage
Gabrielle Union felt “entitled” to cheat on Chris Howard during their “dysfunctional” marriage.
“I was paying all the bills, I was working my ass off and I felt like that’s what comes [with it],” the actress, 50, recalled on Monday’s episode of Dax Shepard and Monica Padman’s “Armchair Expert” podcast.
The “Bring It On” star called infidelity “the spoils of riches,” adding, “Like my dad before me, whoever has the most gets to do whatever the hell they want, is what I thought.”
Union, who was married to Howard from 2001 to 2006, accused the NFL player of cheating as well.
“Neither one of us felt like our marriage should get in the way of our dating,” she joked.
“Part of it was keeping up with his activities,” she continued. “I was like, ‘Oh, that’s what you’re doing? Oh, you’re gonna feel this one.'”
The “We’re Going to Need More Wine” author called the romance a “stupid” one that “should have never gotten out of the dating phase,” explaining that she and the athlete, 47, had “not one thing in common, no morals, no values, no scruples.”
Union described herself as “horny for validation” at the time.
“Having certain kinds of guys like me and want me … made me feel like I was worthy and good and valuable and deserving,” she explained.
She noted that she now is her “own motherf–king validation … and prize.”
The “Cheaper by the Dozen” star went on to marry Dwyane Wade in 2014. She and the NBA star, 40, welcomed daughter Kaavia, now 4, via surrogate in 2018.
Union is also the stepmother of Wade’s three other children — Zaire, 20, Zaya, 15, and Xavier, 9 – from former relationships.
The “L.A.’s Finest” alum, however, doesn’t identify with the stepparent label, telling Glennon Doyle in November 2021 that she sees herself as a “consistent … additional adult in their” lives.
“I knew that when I married him, I was married to them,” Union said on the “We Can Do Hard Things” podcast.
“Don’t try to replace the other parent. That is not your job.”
